Backtrack | November 14
November 2014 Journal
Steaming through the Thames Valley - two colour pages of scenes around Hanwell and Sonning in the late 1950s by Ken Wightman.
The Yatton to Witham Branch - Colin Maggs presents a brief history of the Cheddar Valley line.
South Wales Locomotives - four pages of archive photos of motive power owned by the pre-grouping Welsh valley railways.
The Rise and Fall of the Compressed Air railway - Adrian Gray tells the story of Arthur Parsey, a dubious 'inventor' of a revolutionary railway engine.
Robberies on the Great Eastern Railway - Alistair F. Nisbet looks at a litany of Victorian crime.
The Cream of Devon and Cornwall - four colour pages of country railway scenes in the early 1960s from the Roy Patterson collection.
100 Years On - The Ais Gill Accident revisited: Part One - Peter Robinson describes the notorious collision and fire on the Settle-Carlisle line in September 1913.
Birmingham New Street - three colour pages by Michael Mensing of this important station before its controversial 1960s rebuild.
The First Railway Guidebooks - J. D. Bennett reviews some early promotional publications from the 1830s.
What did you do in the War, Mr. Porter? - A. J. Mullay considers railway employment, enlistment and casualties in World War I.
Robert Billinton: An underrated Engineer? - Jeremy Clarke reviews the career of a London, Brighton & South Coast Railway locomotive chief.
London Transport Above Ground - three colour shots by Paul Joyce of tube trains on the 'surface'.
War Memorial Engines - Sitwell D. Williams concludes our World War I coverage by looking at locomotives whose names commemorated people, places, battles and regiments associated with the conflict.
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The specialist magazine was first published in 1986 for the purpose of ‘recording the history of Britain’s railway’ - the magazine’s strapline - and it is now published by Pendragon Publishing. Dropping every month, Backtrack magazine is your monthly dose of railway nostalgia and historical insight.
35 years later and Backtrack has firmly established itself as the authority on topics such as the history of Britain and Ireland’s train stations, railway bridges, signalling, biographies, train services and staff recollections - all of which regularly appear in the magazine. Backtrack's contributors include many of today's leading railway history writers and the magazine has a reputation for being of the highest quality.
With a multitude of unmissable monthly features, every issue aims to chronicle and record part of the history of Britain’s railway system. Every issue contains a dozen or so large articles that focus on a particular line or area in British railway history.
Whether you’re into early railway history from the 'pre-Stephenson' era, steam, diesel or electric locomotive you’ll find every era covered in minute detail - from railway company history, railway carriages and wagons, railway stations, railway ships, hotels and road vehicles, railway economic and social history and railway publicity and advertising.
A Backtrack digital magazine subscription is your go-to for railway history:
- Britain's leading historical railway magazine
- Delving into the era of horse-drawn tramroads up to locomotives and rolling stock
- History of lines, the social, political, financial, engineering and labour aspects of the railway
- Archive black and white quality images and historical colour coverage of the railway scene
- The history of train stations, railway bridges, signalling, biographies and train services
- Contributors include many of today's leading railway history writers
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You'll receive 12 issues during a 1 year Backtrack magazine subscription.
Note: Digital editions do not include the covermount items or supplements you would find with printed copies.
Articles in this issue
Below is a selection of articles in Backtrack November 14.